


Lessons in Toxicology

by sunshinewinchesters



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: BAMF Venom, Blood and Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eddie fucks it up! in all kinds of ways bless him, Fluff, Gratuitous Swearing, Hurt Eddie Brock, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Kinda, LOVE is stored in the SYMBIOTE, M/M, Possessive Venom, Protective Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Sickfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, actual human trainwreck Eddie Brock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 09:12:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16531667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinewinchesters/pseuds/sunshinewinchesters
Summary: Eddie's eager to jump back into the reporting game with a take-down interview of the only surviving Life Foundation doctor. Venom's just here for the potential human snack, and well, Eddie, of course.





	Lessons in Toxicology

Eddie is still getting used to symbiosis. 

Though it was a radical, fucking weird, and at first unwelcome change, now he kind of really loves it. 

He’d had no idea he’d been going his entire life craving intimacy until some murderous alien parasite had claimed him as host and then made him eat a few egotistical fucks from the Life Foundation. 

**Not _some_** , Venom growls indignantly. Eddie rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah yeah, not just ‘some’.” Something like golden warmth fills Eddie’s chest -- _love_ \-- and his voice softens. “It had to be you.”

Eddie can feel Venom encompass him closer, feels the proud and contented press of his other surrounding him from the inside, all undulating familiarity and affection. 

“You’re turning me into a giant fuckin’ sap, you asshole,” Eddie chuckles, trying to refocus himself on scrubbing a plate with crusted over ketchup on it clean. 

So, yeah, Eddie’s still trying to figure out how to handle all of this. Within days, sharing his body, mind, and everything else with his symbiote had become natural and effortless as breathing. 

The biggest shocker wasn’t even when he’d seen what they could do together: scaling skyscrapers, fighting off dozens of armed men, riding a motorcycle through rush hour traffic going ninety miles an hour. Destroying a rocket with an evil dick and his power-hungry douchebag alien friend inside and rescuing the human race. (Eddie isn’t one to be smug -- okay, he totally is -- but that’s some pretty insane and badass teamwork, right there.)

No -- Eddie came to terms surprisingly easy with all that. What really rocked him back on his heels, however, was the intensity of the bond they’d formed. He’d always been aware he was lonely and maybe a little touch-starved, but whatever, it wasn’t that important. After Anne left, however, months of a life devoid of love, companionship, and intimacy really took its toll. He hadn’t even realized he was depressed. How was he supposed to know that he actually really kind of desperately needed all of those things, despite how he’d tried to convince himself otherwise?

 **It’s okay, Eddie.** Venom doesn’t like that at all; Eddie’s sadness worries and upsets him. The corner of Eddie’s mouth quirks up in a little smile, and he swallows hard against the sudden tightness in his throat.

“I know, love.” Venom’s right, it _is_ okay. Because now he has _everything_ , all in one. 

He doesn’t need to say it. They both already know. The closeness, affection, intimacy, companionship -- it’s all mutual, tacit. True love, and all that mushy fairytale bullshit.

And if it’s that exact bullshit that puts a spring in his step and has him smiling stupidly no matter what horrible turn his luck inevitably takes each day, then that’s his business only, thank you very much.

Well, his and Venom’s. Sort of. Eddie’s still coming to terms with the pain-in-the-ass fact that the symbiote is privy to every single thought that goes through his head. He’s not a hundred percent sure he’ll ever really like it, but hey, small sacrifices, right?

“Would you look at that,” Eddie muses, glancing at the clock he has mounted right above the kitchen sink. “We’d better get going. Can’t be late to my first investigative report since getting canned.” Venom perks up with interest and Eddie raises his eyebrows and tries to adopt a stern expression. “And no, you may _not_ eat the guy we’re questioning.” The resulting wave of disappointment and irritated ripple of Venom inside him has Eddie smirking as he dries his hands and shrugs into his favorite leather jacket. 

“If you’re good we’ll even stop for food on the way home, whatever kind you want.” Eddie pauses. “...but nothing that’s alive.”  
 **What if he is a bad person, someone who deserves to be eaten?** Venom is still being all annoying about the whole eating people thing inside him and Eddie sighs in exasperation. Goddamn, you’d think he never feeds him.  
“No, still no. You can’t eat people we investigate until like, the investigation is over. People will get suspicious.” Venom doesn’t like that answer but he at least seems to understand it, and Eddie’ll take what he can get. “Right. Okay, get ready San Fransisco, the Eddie Brock report is about to be back and better than ever!” 

Eddie puts on his helmet and heads out the door, the same old excitement he’d always get before a case settling back into his bones. God, he’d missed it. There’s a nervous edge this time, too; Eddie wanted to kick off his show with a bang, and what better way to do that than take down one of the main doctors who was experimenting on humans? Some guy who worked on the symbiote project, a microbial astral ecologist who used to be one of Drake’s right hands, reached out to do an interview with Eddie and pretty much dropped the best comeback report ever right into his lap.

**We will eat him a couple weeks after the interview.**

“No! No eating this guy! Yeah, he’s bad and totally deserves to be eaten, but I think that’s too easy of an out for him after what he’s done. I’m gonna destroy him in this interview, millions of people will watch it, and bam! His life is fucked up forever, everyone hates him and makes his life hell, and he has to live with it because it’s all his doing.” Man, Eddie can’t wait for it. It’ll be fun to see for how long he can be professional until he just starts tearing into this asshole who is honest to god one of the worst, most evil fucks on the entire planet.

 **He put you in danger. He tried to kill you and separate us. I will eat him and he will _suffer_.** Venom seethes inside him so deep and hot Eddie can nearly feel the scorch of it against his organs. 

“Let’s just see how the interview goes, okay? There are dozens of people that he’s responsible for killing, they deserve some justice, too.” Eddie straddles his bike, nudging the kickstand back and twisting the key so the engine roars to life, and then they’re off. He used to love how powerful he felt on this thing, but now even going sixty on a windy day feels underwhelming. That’s probably Venom’s fault; nothing gives him the heady rush of strength, speed, danger, and adrenaline like his love. It’s a constant roller coaster, which works out great, considering Eddie is a glutton for near death situations, apparently. 

His bare knuckles are wrapped around the clutch and the bite of wind against the raw skin makes Eddie wince. It’s late November, and it’s been uncharacteristically chilly for this time of year. He makes a mental note to pick up some biker gloves later so next time he goes for a ride he doesn’t have to worry about losing feeling in his fingers. 

Venom starts shifting inside him, moving out towards his skin, and Eddie risks a glance down to see his other easing out in dark tendrils down his arms, spreading thick over the tops of his hands to gently hold them in place while protecting them from the cold and wind. 

He smiles, lifts one hand up to his lips and kisses the gleaming black overlaying his knuckles. “Thanks, love.”

***

Dr. Stevenson had invited them to do the interview in his study, one of the levels of his stupidly big house. So here they are, pulling up in the driveway next to the doctor’s ridiculous bright red Porsche. Eddie lets out a low whistle, shielding his eyes from the light of the setting sun as he gets a good look at the house. If there isn’t a basement level that they can’t see, the house is four stories in total, and really looks like more of a city mansion than an actual house. “Jesus. Someone really needs to sue this guy. He still has way too much money for being some dick that helped kill a bunch of poor people ‘for science’.” Eddie shakes his head and tucks his helmet under his arm as they head for the wrap around porch. 

Eddie’s about to knock on the door when he’s brought up short by Venom pulsating warningly inside him. Before he can even tell him to cut it out or ask what his problem is, Venom’s voice is loud in his thoughts. **He knows I’m here with you.** Venom extends from his left shoulder in thick ropes of black until his face is manifested and he’s looking at Eddie seriously. Eddie bats at him with a hand.

“Hey, get back in there, no he doesn’t! But he’ll definitely find out if he looks out the window and sees your creepy alien eyes peering back at him! We talked about this, you gotta stay put so he’s on the same page as everyone else and doesn’t know you survived the explosion.” Venom’s about to argue when they hear the click of the deadbolt being undone and Venom, thank fuck, actually fuses back into Eddie before the door is swung open and out of the way. 

“Eddie Brock. I thought I heard someone out there,” the man, presumably Dr. Stevenson, says with a practiced, professional smile that doesn’t touch his eyes. He steps aside and gestures for Eddie to come in. Eddie returns the smile as best as he can and holds out a hand Dr. Stevenson hesitates before shaking.   
“Yeah, that’s me. Thanks for having me over for the interview, Dr. Stevenson. Everyone is going to be super interested in your side of the story and your work,” Eddie says as the doctor shuts and locks the front door behind them. His brain is still a minute behind, stuck on what Venom said, the ominous fuck. He must get off on Eddie’s paranoia or some other equally bizarre shit. 

“Certainly. There are several things I want to clear up for the public, especially in regards to my time working under Dr. Drake. I appreciate you agreeing to take the time to interview me.” Stevenson gestures for a staircase across the entry room that leads down. “Let’s head down to my study and we can get started.” Eddie nods and follows along, leaving his helmet and keys by the door. 

They go down two flights of stairs that open up to a spacious room Eddie is pretty sure is the study, though he’s never been in a study before. There are a few bookshelves, a couple desks, a big central table surrounded by chairs, and a couple closed doors on either side of the room. Everything looks expensive and tidy. Stevenson leads them to the table at the center of the room and they each take a seat opposite each other. Eddie gets to work setting up the tripod and audio recorder after he messes with his notes, and Stevenson goes to retrieve a bottle of Fiji water (really? Fucking Fiji water?) from a mini fridge in the corner. He offers Eddie one but Eddie passes, too busy trying to get the right zoom on the camera to capture both of them in the shot.

“There we go,” Eddie hums in satisfaction as he finally hits record on both devices and drops into his seat. “Alright, so, Dr. Stevenson. What were you expecting when you started working under Dr. Drake on the symbiote project?” Eddie has to focus on maintaining eye contact with the man, because Venom has gotten even more restless under his skin, and he’s absolutely sure that that’s _hostility_ radiating off of his other. He wasn’t this pissed earlier, what gives? 

“Dr. Drake hired me to oversee the first trials of symbiosis, where one of the astral creatures his team had brought back -- a symbiote -- was to ‘bond’ with a respiratory host, as they are not able to function well in an oxygen rich environment so unlike their natural one. They need a carbon-based host who is able to utilize oxygen for cellular respiration.” Okay, Eddie understood like maybe half of that at best, but he keeps going, intent not to get side tracked with the interview just because Venom is being weird. His other is probably just giving him space -- well, as much as he can anyway -- to do this interview and get the justice he and everyone they experimented on deserves. 

“I see. Did you ever expect you would be overseeing human trials, and would you have participated if you had known Drake would order they be started so soon?” Eddie’s already zeroing in with his questions. He’s ready for some answers -- not that this bastard will have any once he runs out of professional deflections and false unawareness claims. How the _hell_ can someone take part in -- conduct, even -- something like that and continue even after watching all those people die excruciating deaths?

“No, I did not, at least not for several years, once animal trials were at a hundred percent success rate and we had an extensive amount of research and evidence indicating human trials would follow suit. And of course, if I had any idea Dr. Drake was going to insist we experiment on human subjects immediately after only a single achievement of symbiosis where the host is not killed, I would have not only refused, but done everything in my power to shut down the entire project.” Stevenson’s answer is so practiced, so devoid of emotion and genuity, Eddie wants to punch this asshole right in his fucking face. He may not get all the science crap but he can sure as shit tell when someone is lying, even if the plain apathy in the doctor’s face and tone didn’t give it away. Eddie isn’t buying it and neither will any of his viewers.

“If that’s true, then what is this official record of your extensive role in the human trials? According to the data logs recently entered in as legal evidence in the Life Foundation case, you not only did nothing to stop these trials, but you were a willing conductor.” Eddie glances over his notes, but he’s too angry to really focus on them and read out any details. “The logs say you personally screened human subjects for compatibility with symbiotes, that you ordered their release into the room with the subjects, you yourself recorded the decline in their health, and that you wrote down observations as each and every one of them died.” Eddie’s fists are clenched and he’s breathing hard, face hot as he uses ever ounce of willpower he possesses to not choke this fucking shitbag out right here and now. 

Dr. Stevenson has gone still and he’s silent a beat before he schools his face back into that infuriating clinical mask. He opens his mouth to respond, and --

Eddie thinks of Maria, remembers how he found her in the lab. Feels something boil in his veins and out to lace his words. 

His voice goes quiet, certain, lethal.

“Funny how your definition of ‘shutting down the project’ is so different from mine, considering you were picking homeless people off the streets and forcing them to host an alien creature inside themselves until their organs failed and they died.” Eddie’s jaw flexes. “But it’s really _not_ funny, actually.”

A long moment passes, charged and dangerous. Their eyes bore into each other, which is why Eddie sees it immediately when something shifts in Dr. Stevenson’s face. 

All at once, Venom is suddenly back at the forefront of his mind, no longer letting Eddie handle everything for himself. **Eddie--!**

Eddie blinks and when he opens his eyes Stevenson is inches away from him, withdrawing a hand back from Eddie’s neck, eyes still trained on Eddie’s. Eddie blinks rapidly, lifts a hand to his throat. Feels the sharp twinge of a needle just beneath his skin. His fingers fumble uselessly to pull it out by the syringe. 

“You’re coming across quite ungrateful, considering you’re alive and harboring one of our symbiotes right now.”

For a second, he’s vaguely aware of Venom shifting rapidly inside him, about to engulf him and emerge in his true form.

But he’s not fast enough. Eddie blacks out, taking Venom with him. 

***

**Author's Note:**

> So I've emerged from my writing hibernation thanks to my love for these two losers :') Next chapter will be where the tags really come into play. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! Much love xx


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